About the service

Learn more about the Cheyne Child Development Service and find key information such as waiting times, investigations, feedback and a glossary of terms.

Our service and environment

We renovated the reception area at our Chelsea location to be open, bright and welcoming for the different age ranges of children we serve and their needs. To enhance the space, we also carried out a consultation session with staff and parent groups to choose artwork for the walls, leading to attractive prints by Benjamin Craven being installed. As part of the refurbishment, we worked with artist Lottie Hall to create artwork to brighten up the large blank wall stretching the length of the reception area. In response, Lottie arranged a mark-making workshop with the local Queensmill School. The marks and patterns created by the local children in this workshop were used to inform the textures in Lottie’s design.

We consulted with the parent forums around the design and layout of the reception area. We also installed sensory items such as interactive wall elements, a concave mirror and a sensory hurricane tube. These sensory installations can help reduce stress while providing essential sensory interactions, helping to stimulate children’s experiences and provide feedback to their sensory systems. We also developed an outdoor waiting area with a sensory garden.

Sensory garden Cheyne Child Development Service (Chelsea and Westminster site)

History of the Cheyne Child Development Service

The Cheyne Child Development Service (CCDS) started in 1875 as The Hospital for Sick and Curable Children, with the original site on Cheyne Walk, SW10, London. Hence the name “Cheyne”. In 1889 it was officially opened and was also referred to as “The Little Hospital by the River”.

In 1922 it was renamed the Cheyne Hospital for Children.

A nursery located at the original site on Cheyne Walk was added to the hospital in 1944 and, in 1955, a centre for management and research into cerebral palsy was added.

Finally, in 1993, the journey that started in 1875 ended with The Cheyne Centre being relocated to the current Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Today, the Cheyne Child Development Service remains based at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital site, with an additional site at Parkview Centre for Health and Wellbeing in White City. Cheyne Child Development Service is part of West London Children’s Healthcare (WLCH). WLCH was formed in April 2022, bringing together paediatric services at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT) and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. West London Children’s Healthcare was founded to provide specialist paediatric and child healthcare in West and North West London and to improve the health and wellbeing of the children we serve by delivering truly integrated care across organisations. The key focus is on outcomes that really matter to patients.

Cheyne Child Development Service provides holistic neurodevelopmental and neurodisability services to children aged 0 to 18, with a focus on diagnostic services and family-centred management and support. The service works closely with healthcare providers, schools and local agencies, including social care.